Setu's Blog

A painful realization dawned on me recently: I may not be able to exercise my right to vote, for the foreseeable future. That is the life of expats who attempt to make a life in a country different from where they are born. I have spent most of my life in India; I grew up in India, I grew as a person in India. The person I am today is because of everything I saw, learnt, read, heard and observed growing up.  India instilled in me the importance of individual values, taught me that humanity is the most important religion and being considerate to our fellow human beings is the most honest act of worship. My experience of India was mostly academic, filled with idealism, honesty, freedom, optimism and respect. To me, India was synonymous with freedom and liberty. The largest democracy in the world succeeding in its effort to bring together people from different regions, religions, languages, castes and cultures. A melting pot of diversity, color, festivals, and most of all, people...

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too. It was the morning of 5th November, 2008 when I heard these words from the then President-Elect Barack Obama as a part of his victory speech . This was a proclamation from the man who had just been elected the most powerful man in the world, that he understood the responsibility of the office he was just elected to. They were simple words exhilarating humility and goodwill, at the same time. For the last 8 years, I have had these very lines stuck in the back of my head, and even more piercingly in the last 6-7 months, and specifically in the Indian context. When we talk about India, we talk about the diversity of the country. 'Unity in diversity' is often the one sentence definition of India cited across the world. It is a society where each person is respected for their individuality as an Indian. It ...

I have respected the need for 'Freedom of Speech' ever since I first understood what it meant, sometime during a Civics class in school. It is the necessity for a society to grow. Ideas and opinions need to flow from one side of the table to the other. As a proponent of free speech, this freedom is something I take very personally and seriously. But, today, almost 18 months after one of the most hallmark decisions taken by the Indian electorate, I wonder if such a freedom exists anymore. It does exist in the Constitution, technically, but on the ground? I'm skeptical. A democracy like ours is very complex for me to explain, but a few things that I believe are underlying to the very fabric of our country are the need for rules and laws that are common to everybody. That all people, all religions, all languages must be treated equally. Yes, the Constitution of India doesn't recognize a national religion or national language. Hinduism isn't the national religion...

Exactly 5 years ago, almost around the same time, I wrote ' The Dream Called 'India'... ', my understanding of the dream that those who fought for the freedom of our nation must've seen, 69 years ago. Today, I am at the crossroads that has me turning cynical to the very same dreams that I believed were real and obvious. And that, not because I've lost the faith, not because I am any less determined to be a part of the change; but because I'm instigate and angry seeing otherwise happen all around me. All the time. Over the past few weeks, I've been struggling with many things that I see around me, and trying to get to the literal 'root' of the problem, and maybe I'm seeing things, but it takes me to a common conclusion about the country we have become: We love our freedom, but we love skirting the responsibilities tagged along with it, even more. And, there, we forget that the freedom comes with responsibilities. The burden of responsibil...

Author's note: While you read this, if you find anything offensive to you, or something that would touch a nerve to a political outfit, a religious entity, a spiritual guru, or anyone who is only looking to take offense in something, please pass me the email addresses of the people who I should forward this to, to get this censored, and I will remove the objectionable content. LOL, just kidding. I'm not taking back my words. Just over 2 months back, on 24th November, 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment (popular for producing franchises like Spiderman, Men In Black and the hit TV show, Breaking Bad, among others), an American subsidiary of the Japanese media conglomerate Sony, was hacked. For those who don't know, hacking is a process by which a malicious person/group take down an account and/or website for reasons only they find logical. In short, they are internet bullies. Subsequently, it was found out that the hack was performed by hackers from North Korea. What follow...

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about my desire to do my bit for this country, and this world, to make it a better place. Considering how huge and important the impending elections in the world's largest democracy, and my dear nation, India, are, it is befitting that I express my views about the state of it. I'm not a member of any political party (not that I know of, at least). And I have strong reasons to admire and hate every party. Seriously. I have enough reasons on both side that it comes down to a very illogical, but personal choice for who I'll end up voting for, during the " biggest festival of democracy ". Festivals, from what I understand about the meaning of the word, are about celebration and for spreading joy and happiness. And since the day the longest elections in the history of India were announced (and much before) I doubt anyone has seen anything but. Not a single cheerful, hopeful emotion has been demonstrated by any candidate from any...

Disclaimer: This post doesn't have much to do with the Bollywood movie Bombay Talkies (except the few references cited), and is neither a review. It's a much broader take at the lack of acceptance of Bollywood movies and their preachings in the lifestyle of India. I don't watch many Bollywood movies, and that's for a simple reason. They are simply not good enough for me to want to waste my time on them. They are boring, pointless, excruciatingly painful to sit through (I was forced to watch Ready, twice , during my Mumbai-Pune bus journeys, so I know). Most of them are the same lovey-dovey romantic flicks, or action movies inspired from Rajnikanth, or just some dumb story with a big banner actor. In the last couple of years, I've come to enjoy movies that have a good story, or that teach me something or the other. And as I kept exploring more Hollywood classics, I realized, no Indian movie comes even close to how the movie is made, what it portrays, or how it ...

Disclaimer: These are solely the author's opinions. I request you to read this with an open mind. And I can assure you that I'm not a worker of, or paid under-the-table by any political party to write this post, trust me. I'm not proud of being an Indian. I'm extremely proud. But, of one of the many things that prick me, on a daily basis, is how the game of politics influences the Indian's life, on a daily basis. I write this post in a situation where there are high chances of the Government falling. With the coalgate scam reports all over the media and opposition parties disrupting the parliamentary sessions on a daily basis, the Government dropped the diesel price hike bomb on the people of the country 3 days back, followed by approving the 51% and 49% FDI in multi-brand retail and aviation sectors respectively, the day after. By explaining my point of view on these 3 topics, I'd like to show you how influenced our daily opinions are to the politicians ...

Cross-posted from Not Just The Talks . It’s been a while since my inaugural and only post for Not Just The Talks , ‘ It’s Time To Not Just Keep Talking. ‘ came by. Well, to be real, a long time. All this while, I have been wanting to push forth this effort that was born in my and my friends’ minds, sometime back in March last year, but couldn’t, for some reason or the other. Regardless of that, any apologies I make today, for promising to initiate change, and then not committing to it, cannot be justified for. Having said that, I do add that today, as I write this post, I am deeply motivated to make my efforts count, anew. This time, I won’t stop. No one can stop me. And if you join in, I know for once that you will make sure no one can stop you. Because, at the end of the day, we know that this is about not just talking, it’s about living. So, to the post for today... Freedom. A word with a million meanings and interpretations. Never has a struggle for ...

Been a while since the idea of this blog and desire hit me and my friends. Time lapses kept pushing this idea far and beyond. But, something made me feel that it was worthless to just keep pushing it beyond without any reason. That something is the movie V For Vendetta . Made me question myself. Why am I here? Why did I ever even begin this blog if I wasn't going to do something of it just because of some silly, stupid reasons? I don't care enough to be even bothered about them! Those reasons don't make me wanna opt out of the desire to make a difference to the society and world I live in. Those reasons don't make me wanna be 'just' a part of the crowd. I know I'm different. I know I'm not one of the herd. And if you think I am, I'm here to tell you and prove to you that I'm NOT. I'm done staying silent. I'm done being suffocated. I'm done feeling sorry for the dead and terrorized. I'm done showing solidarit...

Two months of headlines, and 5 days later. Here India is. In what began as a drive against corruption, not much of it remains anymore. Reasons? Varied. Most of them, known to everyone. Some of them, hidden. It all began with Anna Hazare's fast unto death or till his demands were met, on 5th April, 2011 which took India by a stir! The thought that problem of corruption, is not here to remain as many (including me) say, that there could be a possible end to this corrupt phase! Wow. So exciting does it sound! And that got so many millions of Indians to support it. Yes, every one of us, every Indian (minus the politicians, bureaucrats and others who live on their black earnings) was on with him, against it. Now, today, this fight seems all-the-more unimportant. Yes, you read that right. Unimportant. It seems to have lost its reason while everyone in the powerful circles tries to gain some clout from it. Religious and spiritual leaders, political parties, news channels, lawyers, w...

Disclaimer: This post is purely a substance of my personal opinion. By this, I don't mean to hurt the sentiments of the republic of India or the person regarded as the Father of The Nation, Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. If anyone would be offended by reading anything that goes against the nation and its principles, even if it's pointing the flaws so that we, the next generation could live in a better India, you would rather not read it hereon, that would be my sincere request to you, as the blogger. Peace. No hard feelings. Sitting on the stage, looking out at the crowd and people gathered around him, he rises and speaks. "I'm on a fast unto death, from now on, till my demands are met." Around 79 years ago, M. K. Gandhi, a political prisoner, changed the way protests were held in this country, India, chiefly dominated by politics and the so-called people's movements... He then rose in this battle, while serving a jail term on political grounds for the eq...